*A CENTURY OF GREATNESS* A HUMBLE HADIYAH TO His Holiness Dr Sayedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb (TUS) ON th 100 MILAAD MUBARAK PREFACE Inspired by Author Mudar Patherya of Calcutta, I took the initiative to spread greater awareness of our beloved Dai-al-Mutlaq‟s greatness to Mumineen living in various Bilad Imaniyah thru the power of the internet. I am deeply thankful to him for his guidance and support. Moreover, I am also grateful for many Zikrs I have received from mumineen around the globe on similar instances that have transpired with them. I had made a niyyat of completing a total of 100 Moajizaas of Aqa Maula TUS by the time of the auspicious occasion of 100th Milad Mubarak (25/03/2011). I am truly grateful and thankful to all mumin-muminaat who have supported me towards this quest of presenting this humble Hadiyah to our beloved Moula…Moula aap aa Nacheez Hadiyah ne qabool karjo! Mumineen are encouraged to circulate these collections liberally. Let us all show the world the many Ehsanaat and Shanaats of our beloved Dai! May Allah Ta’alah grant our Moula a long and healthy life Ta Roze Qayamat - Ameen! I WISH ALL MUMINEEN-MUMINAAT & FARZANDO A GRAND MEAVI MILAD MUBARAK !! Mu. Ali Asghar N. Lehri Kingdom of Bahrain [email protected] Moula's Mojeza (1) Following interview of Shaikh Abdulhusainbhai Harianawala (Karachi) by Mudar Patherya (Calcutta): Around 1973, our family entered the business of textile processing in Karachi. Water represents the building block of this business. This qualification made the arid region of Karachi theoretically unsuitable for textile processing, unless if one enjoyed access to a robust municipal connection or one was sitting on top of an aquifer. We enjoyed neither advantage. The municipal connection was not there; several factories in our neighborhood had dug deep wells, but there was just no ground water to justify the factory's presence in the vicinity. The opinions were clear: scrap the project or move. Eventually we recognized that only one power could resolve the problem. Huzurala(TUS). So we submitted a detailed araz with the plot's sketch, indicating where the factory building would be located, where the open area would be etcetera etcetera. The problem, we indicated, was the water. Where would we find it? Huzurala (TUS) took one look at the map and immediately thrust his finger on it. He was indicating where we should dig! Everyone was relieved, but that is when the story took an interesting twist. The person who had created the map realized that he had made a mistake...the north had been represented as south and the south as north! So someone said that in that case, we needed to flip the direction of the spot that Huzurala (TUS) had identified. Somebody else said that we shouldn't tamper with something we knew little about. So off we went to Huzurala (TUS) yet again, this time looking a little sheepish and explaining that we had got our co-ordinates wrong and would he please make re-indicate where we should dig. Huzurala(TUS) - surprise of surprises - made no change. He thrust his finger on the same spot. We dug. We struck fresh water within 25 feet. Our factory became a reality. And more than three decades later we still continue to draw water from a spot within a region that is generally dismissed as 'desert'! Interview ends Moula's Mojeza- ( 2 ) Following interview of Shaikh Asgarbhai Kothawala, Mumbai, by Mudar Patherya: I STARTED a printing press called Almats Printers. We grew the business rapidly with debt; soon we were among the fastest growing printers in Mumbai and the first to import sophisticated German equipment. Thereafter, the word got around that my business was pyramided around debt; these well- wishers advised repayment but I soon realized that if I were to liquidate my debts I would be required to sell my plot, building and machines. Tough call. Should I grow through debt and enhance visibility or shrink with no debt and be driven into oblivion. I sought advice from Huzurala(TUS). Moulana yeh farmayu ke "ehne kaho ke riba ma si nikli jaayi aney ghar wehchey." I used to stay in a 1500 sq ft flat in Worli with four cars (three imported, one Indian). If we were to respect what Huzurala (TUS) pronounced, it appeared (at that time) that we would lose our financial identity. I spoke with my wife; she said, 'Maulana yeh farmayu chhey to ghar wehchi daiyye' , even as a number of people advised us against it. Even as my flat was worth 'x' lakhs, we sold it at a 20 per cent discount. We sold the imported cars. We sold the press property. We downgraded to a one-BHK rented flat in Bandra. We recalled our daughters from Mussoorie and Dehradun schools. We began to commute by bus and train, whichever was cheaper. From somebody, we were now nobodies. In just months. I had no business. Some acquaintances gave me sitting space in their shop. Two years passed. Moulana yeh mara upar hath muki ne farmayu hatu tamein riba ma si nikli jao, inshaallah khuda tamne aana karta behtar ghar aapse. Har waqt mein Aqa Maula ni hazrat ma jaato to Aqa Maula mara kaandha par haath muki ne maney dilaaso aapta. Interesting things began to happen. I bought a flat in Bandra for 'x' amount. In the real estate boom that followed, its value quadrupled. I presented my case to Huzurala who enquired about my remaining liabilities; after hearing me out, he said "Aa ghar ne wehchi do". With the proceeds from that transaction, we liquidated all our liabilities. We became financially solvent for the first time in two decades. No debt. With the spillover money we bought a one-BHK house in Santa Cruz. Some money was still left over; I restarted my business. During this time a Gujarati friend, who used to be my neighbor in Worli, helped with office space. My old clients - Mahindra & Mahindra and other corporate giants –gave me work (even as they knew that I had no printing press). Others chipped in with capital on a profit-sharing basis. But there was still no press. Should I buy one? If I did, where would the capital come from? So up against the wall, I responded laterally. I changed my business model: from being direct printer to co-ordinator. With complete quality responsibility. We did not invest in equipment; we outsourced from a dozen printing presses. Today, my business has grown bigger than it ever was – several crores in turnover – without a rupee's debt. And without related stress. It has also coincided with some of the biggest technological changes in our business. From the conventional positive-driven printing technology, the world has leap-frogged to the computer-to- plate generation. In retrospect, it is entirely possible that had I invested in the former technology, my investment could have gone down the tube as soon as the new technology emerged. There is also something else that one needs to take into account. Until about two decades ago, some of the most prominent brands of the world manufactured and marketed. As the world globalised, a number of them outsourced and marketed. Huzurala (TUS) was way ahead of the market. He was advising me to market my personal brand more effectively than my assets. He was showing me the route to a higher return on employed capital than the conventional approach of loading the gross block. Earlier, if I had been advised that it was possible to report a higher ROCE in a printing business without a press, I would have dismissed the concept as absurd. It took Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin Saheb's (TUS) business-cum- life re- engineering to show that it could indeed be done. Copy ends Moula's Mojeza- ( 3 ) Following interview of Ali Asgar Matcheswalla, Shareqa (UAE) by Mudar Patherya (Calcutta): WE WERE shifting house in Bangkok in 1997. I was responsible for the transfer. Carrying bags. Pulling out drawers. Carting material. It must have been a big drawer full of hardware tools that triggered a sharp pain down my leg. The doctor pronounced: severe scoliosis of 35% in my upper frame caused by a major disc herniation of lumbars 4 and 5. Only medical intervention could resolve this. It didn't. As time passed, the pain grew worse. Deeper. Sharper. Longer. Nights would be sleepless; days painful. Meanwhile, I became a victim for medical experimentation. Chinese massage. Acupuncture. Chiropractor adjustment. Ultra sound. Laser treatment. Physiotherapy exercise. Ozone injections in the disc. Yoga. You name it, I underwent it. Defeated by every medical intervention across three years, I finally resolved to seek my final medical intervention. Huzurala(TUS). Huzurala (TUS) was to attend a Ziafat (in Singapore). Since it was almost Maghrib, we were specifically asked not to tender any araz. This was my dilemma …my last chance, directive for no araz, my last chance....directive for no araz! Huzurala (TUS) appeared. He walked towards where I stood. He walked past. Finally, I cried in anguish, "Maula! Hu Bangkok si aayo chhu, aney maney kamar ma bau dukhe chey! Bau problem chhey!" It was more the last plea of a drowning man than a formal araz. Huzurala (TUS) stopped, turned slightly in my direction, `saw me' for about 10 seconds (eternity!), smiled and proceeded. This is what I felt: someone pouring water down my back. The pain went away forever!! Copy ends. Moula's Mojeza- ( 4 ) Following interview of Haiderbhai Kohdawala, Calcutta, by Mudar Patherya: THIS HAPPENED in the late Nineties.